Slummin' in London

Paul recently uploaded our honeymoon pictures on Picasa. Everytime I see these of our hotel room in London I laugh out loud. Our room was the size of a closet. In the photo below you can see where I am sitting on the toilet, pretending to brush my teeth and use the shower, all were within arm's reach. Paul could almost reach from wall to wall. It was hilarious. The good thing was it was a short walk from Victoria Station. The bad thing was that it actually cost us 75 pounds (150 bucks!) a night!

RIP Michael the fish

Mallory got two fish at Wal Mart Monday. She named them Mallory and Michael. Last night Michael was already kaput. What do you expect for 38 cents?

Matte Family Reunion '09

The Kentucky Mattes
These are all six of the girl grandchildren, DeDe, Bridget, Christie, Katy, Tracy and Mallory.
Paul and his siblings, Doreen, Fred, Bruce, John, Mary, Annette and Joey.
The grandkids and great grandkids in attendance.
Mallory and Michael and their (big) first cousins. Seventeen were there throughout the day, pretty good out of twenty-one.


Weeeee! Down the slide with Kelsey.

All Paul's siblings get together once a year for a family reunion in their hometown of Oberlin, Louisiana. There are eight kids of Joseph and Josephine Matte (now deceased), 21 grandkids (Mallory and Michael being the last two, numbers 20 and 21...hence the meaning of their shirts) and a whole heap of great grandkids, the number of which everyone has lost count! There are well over 20 and it might be closer to 30! We had a great day at Paul's sister Doreen's house, where the kids played on the trampoline, a rented fun jump and a swingset while the grown ups just sat around visiting and eating of course!

A day at the beach

We stopped for a day and night in Orange Beach last week on our way to Paul's family reunion in Louisiana. We stayed with my cousin Jim in his very nice condo and were so thankful for his hospitality! Mallory loved the water this year for the first time. Michael was tired and cranky so he didn't enjoy the afternoon too much. Maybe next year for him. We try to the get the kids to the beach every year for at least a day.  It's not much but better than nothing considering how land locked we are in Kentucky. Orange Beach is in Alabama and is so beautiful! Thanks Jim!!

Montgomery zoo fun

Last week we went to the Montgomery Zoo with Oma and Opa. Our Louisville Zoo membership is reciprocal so we get in free when we're in town. The zoo is nice and compact so you don't get worn out walking around like you do in Louisville. We were done with the whole thing in an hour and a half including the train ride!

Biscuits Baseball

Monday night we went to a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game. Yes, they are called the Biscuits! We got to sit in a swanky box or suite courtesy of our friends Greg and Jennifer and their friend Byron. My cousins Jason, Ronda and Eli were also there along with Mother and Lothar and some others. It was really fun. Don't ask me if the Biscuits won...I didn't see one at bat!

Easter Pix

We had such a wonderful Easter! I got up early and made Mallory her sweet floral halo with fresh sweetheart roses. The kids enjoyed getting their baskets that morning at home. We had a great service with two baptisms (Paul's shirt got wet so he had taken it off in this family picture!) and then we had an egg hunt for the kids. Then we drove down to Montgomery that afternoon/evening to visit family. It was a really fabulous day!

Happy Easter!

Hallelujah 

Jesus is alive 

Death has lost its victory

 And the grave has been denied

 Jesus lives forever He's alive! He's alive!  

He's the Alpha and Omega 

The first and last is he 

The curse of sin is broken 

And we have perfect liberty 

The lamb of God has risen 

He's alive, He's alive!  

Hallelujah!

Jesus is alive!

(Ron Kenoly)

Too sweet

 We had a footwashing service Thursday night at the church. Footwashing is one of the ordinances we observe in the Church of God. This is Mallory's fourth time to attend since we moved here but the first time she has actually washed some one's feet. In previous years one of the ladies of the church has just washed her little feet but this year she wanted to take part. I was across the circle from her and someone else actually took this picture. I hope we can always teach her to be a servant the way Jesus modeled to us.

I love this season

I usually don't post much here over the weekend but there have been so many fun, spring activities lately that I just have to share the cute pictures. These were taken the other day at Mallory's preschool class's Easter party. The class always has party snacks: chips, fruit, brownies, a veggie tray, cookies and juice. We can only bring in commercially prepared stuff for their parties and you know that kills me because I would love to be whipping up some fun baked goods for their events. However, the teacher's don't mind if I bring them some homemade goodies from time to time so I enjoy taking them cookies, banana bread, etc from time to time. Back to the party, after the snacks, the kids perform their little songs and poems for the mommies and daddies and grandparents who might be there. Then, they usually give us a card they have made for the occasion. This time we all went outside in the sweet little courtyard of the church and the kids had an egg hunt. It was a really great party and the weather was perfect!